27 replies to this topic

[mono-posto]

It has been reported that Ferrari's chief mechanic, Nigel Stepney, after being injured in a pit stop accident in Spain, will be out of action for four weeks with a fractured ankle before returning to work.

It may also mean that he will not immediately returning to the task of refuelling untill fully healed. In todays pit enviroment, pit time is almost always dictated by how fast the refuelling crew can get thier job done.

Will Ferrari be prepaired at the Nurburgring with a suitable substitute while Nigel recovers? Ross Brawns incredible strategys are only as good as those chosen to pull them off.

Hopefully Ferrari's pit crew will be as strong and focused as ever.

[This message has been edited by mono-posto (edited 05-09-2000).]

[Ripples]

Michael Schumacher already had two pitstops without Stepney in Spain, and they were fine.

God help the team whose pitstop success relies on one man only...

[mono-posto]

Well, I'm not sure.

His second stop was 17.5 secs and his third didn't require fuel, just a tire change.

A 17.5 sec stop is not fine, and is not a winning stop. It could be argued that it cost him the race.

[Daemon]

Not really, and if they do it will be very marginal. These guys are highly trained proffessionals, some of the best in the world at their job. It might cause a bit of uncertainty, but as in Spain, the replacement refueller performed extremely well under pressure, keeping the stop down to 17.5sec despite the damage fuel intake...

[Sulla]

It very likely did cost him the race but they do have 2 weeks to implement a contingency plan so Ferrari shouldn't suffer too much.

[chester316]

Ripples
Where you not watching the same race as everybody else , he lost the race in the pits whent the new refueler guy could not get the nozzle in schuey;s gas thingy fast enough

[theMot]

They better get a new refuelling person. I would like to see that guy who did it at spain getting a root. He couldnt find the hole if his life depended on it.

I bet his misses isnt to happy with him

[Mrv]

There shouldn't be a problem with the person taking over for Nigel. Ferrari are going to be practising quite a bit of stops this whole week. The person that replaced Nigel was Andrea Vaccari. He did his best under those circumstances. Andrea has not practiced refuelling all that much. The pressure and in experiance go to him. There was no damage to the refuelling rig. It is not known if Andrea will be the one replacing Nigel. I will try to find out.

[RedFever]

One thing is to improvise yourself as the Fuel Man in 20 minutes, after your colleague has been downed to the floor, in the middle of a race as close as Spain.

One thing is to have 2 full weeks of training so that when Rubens and Michael stop in Germany, you work on auto-pilot, since you have performed the operation over and over and over. I foresee a busy two weeks for Luca Badoer.........

[mono-posto]

Well, I'm sure that whoever replaces him will most definitely be highly trained and prepaired.

However, just to offer a different perspective, could it be possible that the team will be just that much more on the edge? A little more jumpy or tense?

Could the lolipop man be just that much more cautious next time? Even a 1-2 sec. delay is enough to destroy a perfect strategy or lose the race.

[RedFever]

mono, JV crashed at Eau Rouge last year and a few minutes later was flat out in the same spot.

These guys are pros. Same for the mechanics. They make mistakes, but don't let the mistakes haunt them for long. After last year Eddie's 3-wheel screwup, Ferrari looked as strong as ever in the pits. I doubt this incident will have long term repercussions

[Arnaldo]

Luca Badoer replacing Nigel??? Surely you jest Red. Next you will propose Todt.

[mono-posto]

Arnaldo,

I am sure that Redfever is referring to Luca Badoer as being the test driver that will be responsible for 'pitting' dozens of times so that the pit crew can practice thier routine.

Can you imagine Schumacher religating himself to such repeatitive work?

[DangerMouse]

They will not suffer without Nigel simply because someone else is carrying the hose, Nigel is regarded as the finest Chief mechanic in the pitlane, because of the orderly team he keeps throughout the season not just race weekends - Yes Ferrari will suffer and so will Michael, you cannot just replace Nigel Stepney.

[The RedBaron]

Oh, I forgot.....it wouldn't be because he's British by any chance?

[Mat]

I'm sure they will use the same replacement refueler as they used in Spain, and im sure he will do a great job. Remember also, that he had do 3 pit stops i believe in that race. And Barrichello's stopped weren't half bad if i recall. And he didn't have 20minutes to get prepared, he had all of about 2-3minutes.

In my opinion the bloke did just fine. I'm pretty sure some of you guys have made one or two mistakes in your time, do be too hard ont he lot.

Mat

[Mrv]

Andrea Vaccari was the man who was refuelling Luca's car in practice yesterday. Ferrari also tried 2 others. They have learned from their mistake and will now have a backup that is also capable of doing the job, just in case something happens again. Refuelling went well I was told. There should be no problems for the Nurburgring as far as refuelling goes.

[This message has been edited by Mrv (edited 05-10-2000).]

[Mrv]

The two other men practicing pitstop refuelling yesterday were Claudio Bisi, and Gianni Petterlini.

[toofani]

Don't they have different pit crews for each driver? Seems terribly redundant but I always thought there were different crews for each of the drivers. So Stepney's stand-in would have done just one refuelling job(on Michael's second pit stop) during the race. Ruben's pit stops wouldn't have been affected.

[This message has been edited by toofani (edited 05-10-2000).]

[RedFever]

Arnaldo, I assumed that people would understand that Luca as driver would not put the fuel in, but be the driver that stops so that the team can train for refueling......wasn't it obvious???? think before you post, my friend.

[narhuit]

Oh-my-God! There has been bone-breaking. And the question is: "Will Ferrari's pit performance suffer?"
The first question should be: "When is refueling safety improved?". With what I suggest -engine shut off as long as the fuel tank trap is open- Nigel Stepney would not have been hurt...

[RedFever]

let's not forget this is F1. Safety is important but an overly-sanitized F1 will be the most boring sport in the world (and we are already headed in that direction)

[Arnaldo]

Sorry Red, I couldn't resist it. I was going to propose Andrea Bocelli, but the thought of him getting run over worried me. Maybe we could try the Marlborough Man from X-Files.

[This message has been edited by Arnaldo (edited 05-10-2000).]

[selena]

Ferrari's pit stop in Nurburgring will be just fine if they start practising now.

Otherwise, Brawn will have to think of some strategy that only requires one pit-stop.

Anyway, McLaren will now use the strategy of calling in their drivers when the Ferrari drivers make a pit-stop so it is of utmost importance that Ferrari perfect their pit-stops in order to null the effects of this McLaren strategy.

[Chris G.]

I have to believe the fuel-rig was damaged from the previous pit. How on earth Ferrari could NOT have some lackey who can put the hose in (if the main guy goes out), is beyond me. They should have 5 guys trained on that hose. Bet McLaren has a few.

As a huge Ferrari fan, it still reminded me of the EI 3-wheel debacle.

[goGoGene]

I will respond to the title question in Mika-style.

"yes"

[Arnaldo]

Maybe Ray Charles could give some guidance. Or they could colour code the filler flap and paint it a bright green.

[RedFever]

As easily forseen:

"Yesterday, Badoer worked on aerodynamic as well as mechanical development, completing 127 laps with a best time of 1:01.283. During the afternoon, the team carried out around 20 practice refuelling stops, in preparation for the absence in the pit crew of the injured Nigel Stepney."

PS. Most teams, including McLaren actually have only one man designated for the refueling job. The same guy refuels both cars. So, no, McLaren would not have 5 men stand-by able to replace on the spot the main guy. And if the valve has been damaged slightly by the accident, you will have the same problems Schumi had.